Battle with the Trojans in LA – GoStanford.com

STANFORD, Calif. – After not making the trip to Los Angeles to play USC for the first time in 59 years last year due to Pac-12 scheduling, the Cardinal will head south to face the No. 25 Trojans Thursday at the Galen Center. Prior to last season, the last time Stanford did not face USC in Los Angeles was during the 1956-57 season.

The Cardinal, 8-6 overall and 0-2 in the Pac-12, will face a USC team that is coming off its first loss of the year. The Trojans are 14-1 overall and 1-1 in the league following Sunday’s 84-61 defeat to No. 21 Oregon. Stanford, 84-64 winners at Maples Pavilion last season, has won five straight against USC, its longest winning streak over the Trojans since the early 1990s.

THREE CONSECUTIVE RANKED FOES FOR FIRST TIME IN 15 YEARS
Stanford’s current stretch of games has the Cardinal facing three consecutive teams ranked in the Associated Press national poll. The Cardinal, who opened the stretch with a loss to No. 18 Arizona on Sunday, will face No. 25 USC on Thursday and No. 4 UCLA on Sunday in Los Angeles. It is the first time Stanford will play nationally-ranked teams in three consecutive games since the 2001-02 season, when ironically the Cardinal faced the same three teams. Stanford lost to No. 20 USC and No. 25 UCLA at home, before winning at No. 14 Arizona.

TRACKING TRAVIS
A look at where junior forward Reid Travis ranks both in the Pac-12 and nationally as of Jan. 3

Category

Average

Pac-12

National

Scoring

17.5

3rd

121st

Rebounding

9.6

5th

37th

Field Goal Percentage

.568

7th

39th

Offensive Rebounds

3.6

1st

23rd

Double-Doubles

6

3rd

28th

Free Throws Made

79

1st

20th

Free Throws Attempted

116

1st

4th

STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE
In its first 14 games, Stanford played six teams that are projected to be in the 2017 NCAA Tournament field, according to ESPN’s Joe Lunardi. All six of those teams – Kansas (5), Saint Mary’s (22), Arizona (27), Miami (31), Seton Hall (35) and SMU (47) – also rank among ESPN analyst Jay Bilas’ list of “Top 68 Teams In The Land.” The Cardinal played only two of these teams (Arizona and Saint Mary’s) at home. Stanford’s strength of schedule as of Jan. 3 ranks 12th nationally.

STANFORD AGAINST RANKED OPPONENTS
Stanford is 0-3 against nationally-ranked opponents in the Associated Press poll this season and 48-56 against ranked foes since 2000. Thursday marks the Cardinal’s second time this season playing back-to-back nationally-ranked opponents, with setbacks to No. 12 Saint Mary’s (66-51) and No. 4 Kansas (89-74) in consecutive games earlier this year. Thursday’s game at No. 25 USC comes after this past Sunday’s meeting with No. 18 Arizona.

JEROD HAASE AGAINST RANKED
Head Coach Jerod Haase owns a 2-11 all-time record against nationally-ranked teams. He played 10 ranked foes as the head coach at UAB, leading the Blazers to a win over No. 9/10 Iowa State (60-59) in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on March 19, 2015 in Louisville, and a victory over No. 16/16 North Carolina (63-59) in Birmingham, on Dec. 1, 2013.

AGAINST USC
Thursday marks the 249th all-time meeting between Stanford and USC. The Cardinal has won the last five games between the two teams and holds a 125-123 edge in the all-time series. The current Cardinal roster is undefeated against the Trojans in Los Angeles. Dorian Pickens had 25 points in Stanford’s loan meeting with USC last season on The Farm.

TRAVIS AMONG RARE COMPANYReid Travis is one of five individuals in the top six conferences (Pac-12, Big 12, Big Ten, ACC, SEC and BIG EAST) to rank in the top five of his league in scoring and rebounding. (as of Jan. 3)

Individual

School

Conference

Scoring (Rank)

Rebounding (Rank)

Yante Maten

Georgia

SEC

20.6 (2nd)

8.2 (3rd)

Reid Travis

Stanford

Pac-12

17.5 (3rd)

9.6 (5th)

Josh Hart

Villanova

BIG EAST

20.3 (1st)

6.8 (4th)

Caleb Swanigan

Purdue

Big Ten

18.5 (3rd)

13.0 (1st)

Jonathan Motley

Oklahoma State

Big 12

16.3 (4th)

9.1 (2nd)

TRAVIS’ IMPACT
After missing the final 22 games last season, Reid Travis has made a strong impact in his return this year. He has posted six of his seven career double-doubles in the first 14 games of this season.

Travis’ Career Double-Doubles

Date

Opponent

Minutes

Points

Rebounds

March 17, 2015

UC Davis

23

10

10

Nov. 11, 2016

Harvard

31

24

17

Nov. 17, 2016

Weber State

32

22

15

Nov. 24, 2016

Miami

33

11

10

Nov. 25, 2016

Indiana State

31

19

12

Dec. 16, 2016

Cal State East Bay

22

24

13

Dec. 22, 2016

Idaho

35

20

12

TRAVIS FROM THE LINEReid Travis ranks fourth in the nation in free throws attempted (116) and 20th in the country in free throws made (79) as of Jan. 3. At Kansas on Dec. 3, he set Stanford single-game records for free throws made (19) and attempted (22), while also breaking the same free throw marks by a Kansas opponent. While Travis is getting to the charity stripe much more, his free throw percentage has also improved from last year.

Travis From The Line

Year

Games

FTM

FTA

FT%

2015-16

8

24

50

48.0

2016-17

14

79

116

68.1

SHEFFIELD’S CAREER NIGHT AGAINST ARIZONA STATE
Sophomore Marcus Sheffield poured in a career-high 35 points on 11-of-15 shooting against Arizona State. He was just the second underclassman in the history of the program (Ron Tomsic, 39 vs. Bradley and 38 vs. USC in 1952-53) to score 35 or more points in a game. Sheffield was the first Cardinal to record a 30-point game since Chasson Randle collected 35 against Rhode Island in the 2014-15 season.

PICKENS ON TARGET FROM BEYOND THE ARC
Junior Dorian Pickens has posted at least one three-pointer in 12 games, with multiple three-pointers in seven contests. He is shooting 41.5 percent from three-point range (13th in Pac-12), with a team-best 27 three-pointers. He registered a career-high seven (7-of-10) against Idaho. Pickens connected on the game-winning trifecta against Indiana State with 2.0 seconds left.

CARTWRIGHT, SANDERS RUNNING POINT
The duo of sophomore Robert Cartwright and senior Christian Sanders run the point for the Cardinal. Sanders, who started the first 11 games, ranks eighth in the Pac-12 with an average of 3.9 assists in 18.6 minutes per game. Cartwright, who missed all of last season with an arm injury, has started Stanford’s last three contests. He is averaging 5.9 points and 2.9 assists in 23.5 minutes per contest.

VETERAN GROUP
Boasting one of the most experienced rosters in the Pac-12, four starters – Reid Travis, Michael Humphrey, Marcus Allen, and Christian Sanders – and 10 of the top 11 scorers from last season are back. Including the first 16 games of this season, Stanford’s roster has combined for 753 appearances.